Bylaws

Article I: Aim and Purpose

1. The name of this organization shall be the Section for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association.

2.The purposes of this organization shall be to promote the general objectives of the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychology of Women, to develop feminist approaches to lesbian, bisexual, and transgender concerns, and to develop and advance feminist understanding of sexual orientation, gender identity, heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia.

Article II: Membership

1. There shall be two categories of membership in the Section for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns: Member and Affiliate

2. The minimum qualifications for Member shall be attainment of the category of Associate, Member or Fellow of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association.

3. The minimum qualifications for Affiliate shall be:

(a) Attainment of the category of Associate, Member or Fellow of the American Psychological Association and/or the Society for the Psychology of Women (SPW) and an interest in the scientific or professional aspects of Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns.

(b) Enrollment in a graduate program in psychology.

Article III: Membership Rights and Privileges

1. Members of the Section for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns shall be entitled to the following:

(a) To hold office and serve on the committees of the section

(b) To vote in regular and special elections.

(c) To receive the publications of the section.

2. Affiliates of the section shall be entitled to the following:

(a) To attend and to participate in the meetings of the section.

(b) To receive the publications of the section.

(c) To serve on the committees of the section.

3. Affiliates may not hold office, vote in regular or special election, or serve as voting members of committees of the section.

4. Any Member or Affiliate who is in arrears of the payment of dues or assessments for a period of two years shall be presumed to have resigned from membership in the section and shall forfeit all attendant rights and privileges.

Article IV: Officers

1. The Officers of the section shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Newsletter Editor-Publicist.

2. The President shall be the Member who has just completed his/her term as President-Elect. S/he shall succeed to office by declaration at the close of the year after her/his elect ion as President-Elect, and shall serve for two years. The President shall preside at all meetings, shall be the chairperson of the Board of Directors with right to vote, serve as the representative to the Executive Council of the Division of the Psychology of Women and shall perform all other usual duties of a presiding officer.

3. The President-Elect shall be Member of the section, elected for a term of two years. The President-Elect shall be a member of the Board of Directors with the right to vote, and shall perform the duties traditionally assigned to a Vice-President. In the event that the President shall not serve his/her full term for any reason, the President-Elect shall become President serve for a full two year term in addition to the portion of the previous President’s unexpired term needed to allow for the election of a new Vice-President at the normal time of elections.

4. The Secretary shall be a Member of the Section elected for a term of two years. During his/her term s/he shall be a member and the Secretary of the Board of Directors with right to vote, shall safeguard all records of the section and of the Board of Directors, shall assist the President in preparing the agenda for business meetings of the section and of the Board of Directors, shall issue calls and notices of meetings, shall inform the membership of action taken by the Board of Directors and shall perform all other duties of a usual secretary.

5. The Treasurer shall be a Member of the Section elected for a term of two years. During his/her term s/he shall be a member and the Treasurer of the Board of Directors with right to vote, shall oversee custody of all funds and property of the section, shall oversee the receipt of all money due to the section , shall direct disbursements as provided under the terms of these Bylaws, shall oversee the keeping of adequate accounts, shall aid in the preparation of the annual budget, shall make an annual financial report to the section, shall submit an annual financial report to the Division and be responsible for determining the accuracy of projected budget figures for proposed section projects.

6. The Newsletter Editor shall be a member of the section elected for a term of two years. During his/her term s/he shall be a member of the Board of Directors with the right to vote, shall be responsible for the gathering of information, writing, printing and mailing of the newsletter, all publicity related to the section's activities, and responsible for writing a column for the Division newsletter. The newsletter editor will provide consultation on the publication ventures of the section as well as perform usual duties of a newsletter editor and publicist.

7. The Past President of the section shall be the most recently retired President of the section, shall serve as a member of the Board of Directors with the right to vote, and shall serve ex officio as Chairperson on the Committee on Nominations and Elections. The Past President shall serve until another individual becomes Past President of the Section by reaching the conclusion of her/his elected Presidential term.

8. The officers shall assume their positions on January 1 of the calendar year and shall maintain them until their successors are seated.

9. In the case of death, incapacity, extenuating circumstances or resignation of any officer, except the President or Past president, the vacant office shall be awarded to the defeated candidate for the position who was, at the time of the most recent past election the runner up for the office in question. If the runner up declines to serve or is for any other reason unavailable, the Board of Directors shall, by majority vote elect a successor to serve until the next annual meeting and shall also undertake to conduct a special election from among eligible members to secure a permanent incumbent who shall complete the unexpired term.

10. The means for filling a vacancy in the office of the President is specified in Article IV, Section 3 of these Bylaws. In the case of death, incapacity or extenuating circumstances or resignation of the Past President, such vacancy shall remain through the balance of the year in which it occurs.

Article V: Board of Directors

1. There shall be a Board of Directors of the Section for Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns. Its membership shall consist of the following persons. (a) The officers of the section as specified in Article IV, Sections 1 through 7 of these bylaws.

2. The duties of the Board of Directors shall include:

(a) Exercising of general supervision over the affairs of the Section and the transaction of the necessary business of the Section provided, however, that the actions of the Board shall not conflict with these Bylaws, the Bylaws of the Society for the Psychology of Women, and or the Bylaws of the American Psychological Association, or with the recorded votes of the membership and shall be subject to review of members at the annual meeting;

(b) Reporting of its activities to the members and recommending matters for the consideration of the membership.

(c) Filling such vacancies in any office of the Section as so empowered under the terms of Article IV, Sections 9 and 10 of these Bylaws;

(d) Advising the President in the appointment of Chairpersons and members of Committees of the Section in accordance with these Bylaws;

(e) Advising the officers of the Section in the performance of their duties;

(f) Preparing a budget for presentation to the membership of the Section and adopting a final budget as amended following member response;

(g) Recommending or approving the disbursement of funds of the Section in accordance with Article IX of these bylaws;

(h) Advising the President in the appointment of the Editor of any of the Section's publications;

(i) Setting policies for the conduct of its own affairs or the affairs of the Section provided, however, that such policies are not in conflict with any of the terms of these bylaws;

3. The Board of Directors shall meet at least once each year immediately preceding the annual meeting of the Section. Additional meetings may be called by the President with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors.

4. Board of Directors meetings shall be open to all members of the Section except at such times as a majority of the Board of Directors may declare an executive session for the purpose of reviewing matters of personnel. Any member of the Section may place a matter on the agenda for a meeting. The President shall preside over the meetings of the Board of Directors, and the Secretary shall act as recording Secretary. A majority of the voting members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum, following due notice of the meeting. Each member present shall have one vote, and no member may vote by proxy.

5. The Board of Directors may also meet by conference call or electronic media to conduct such business as is needed.

Article VI: Committees

1. The Committees of the Section shall consist of such Standing committees as are provided by these bylaws and of such ad hoc Committees as shall be established by the President with the concurrence of the Board of Directors. Unless reconstituted for a subsequent year or years, the existence of an ad hoc Committee shall terminate at the close of the year in which it has been established. All committee meetings shall be open to all members of the Section except at such times as confidential matters concerning individual members, applicants, or awards are under discussion.

2. Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, the members of the Section's committees shall be appointed on an annual basis by the President in concurrence with the Board of Directors. Such persons shall serve as Chairs of their respective committees.

3. There shall be five standing committees of the Section.

(a) The Membership Committee in which the appointees shall serve for staggered terms of three years. It shall be the duty of the Committee to solicit members and recommend applicants for the categories of Member and Affiliate and Fellow within the Division of the Psychology of Women.

(b) The Program Committee in which the appointees will serve staggered term of two years. It shall be the duty of the Committee to solicit, and evaluate scientific and professional contributions to be presented as the Section's part of the Division's annual meeting program, as well as coordinate regional presentations, and presentations at programs of related organizations. The program committee will be responsible for coordinating with the Newsletter Editor-Publicist insuring that these events are well publicized.

(c) The Graduate Student Committee shall serve for staggered terms of two years. It shall be the duty of the Committee to solicit and organize the graduate students of the section.

(d) The Coordinators Committee appointees shall serve for a staggered term of three years. Members of this Committee shall be responsible for coordinating activities of the Section with Sections, Divisions, and other entities with similar interests at the national and regional level.

(e) The Awards Committee shall serve for a staggered term of three years. They shall be charged with developing such honors and awards as are determined to be appropriate by the Section. They shall also determine annually the distribution of said honors and awards or the task an appropriate sub-committee for that purpose.

Article VII: Nominations and Elections

1. Committee on Nominations and Elections, which shall consist of the Past President ex officio as Chairperson and one other member appointed by the President with the concurrence of the Board of Directors, shall be responsible for implementing the policies required for the nomination and election of Officers and Representatives to the Division's Board of Directors as well as for the Officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Section.

2. The Committee for Nominations and Elections shall propose a slate of two nominees for each position open for election. These nominees shall have agreed to serve if elected. Any member submitting a nominating petition(s) signed by twenty or more members of the Section shall be placed on the ballot for that position, either by the Nominations Committee or in addition to the candidates proposed by the Nominations Committee.

3. After a proposed final election ballet and its slate of nominees has been composed for submission to the membership by the Committee on nominations and Elections, the Chairperson shall submit a report on its actions to the Board of Directors.

4. The Officers to the Section shall be elected by a preferential vote of the Members on a mail ballot. The Committee on Nominations and Elections shall be responsible for overseeing the mailing of ballots, the count of the votes, the notification to the Board of Directors of the Section of the result of the election, the notification to the members whose names appeared on the ballot, and the reporting of the election to the annual business meeting of the Section.

5. Special elections that are required to fill any vacancies on the Board of Directors and not capable of being filled by the appointment of the next most popular defeated candidate, shall be conducted by the Committee on Nominations and Elections in consonance with Article VII, Sections 1 thorough 5 of these Bylaws.

Article VIII: Meetings

1. The Section shall hold an annual meeting at the time and place of the annual convention of the American Psychological Association for the presentation of scientific papers and the discussion of professional matters in the fields of the Section's interests. The Section shall coordinate its programs with, and shall participate in, the program of the Division of Psychology of Women.

2. There shall be at least one business meeting of the Section which shall be held during the time and in the locality of the annually convention of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of such meetings shall be to provide an opportunity for a personal exchange of information and perspectives about matters of mutual concern between the general membership and the members of the Board of Directors. Any amber of the Section shall have the right to place a matter on the agenda of a business meeting of the Section by directing the matter to the Secretary Treasurer at least forty eight (48) hours before the scheduled meeting time.

3. Other scientific, professional and/or business meetings of the Section may be called by the President with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.

Article IX: Finances

1. Dues for Members and Affiliates shall be set annually by the Board of Directors.

2. The Board of Directors shall prepare an annual budget of anticipated income and expenditures which shall be presented for the review of the members at the annual business meeting.

3. Disbursements of funds of the Section shall be made as follows:

(a) The Board of Directors shall authorize disbursements within the amounts of the approved budgets which are not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Section or of the Division, nor with the recorded actions of the membership.

(b) The Treasurer, with the concurrence of the President, is authorized to reallocate unexpended funds from one category of the approved budget to another, provided only that the total expenses for the year are not exceeded.

(c) Disbursements of any amount for items not contained in the approved budget that are harmonious with the objectives of the Section may be authorized by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors provided that such expenditures will not require an increase in dues during the fiscal year in which it shall be made and do not interfere with the expenditures previously approved.

4. The Treasurer is authorized to sign checks on behalf of Section for the disbursement of funds duly approved under the provisions of Article IX, Sections 2 and 3. In the event of the incapacity of the Treasurer or a vacancy in that office, the President Elect is authorized to serve in her/his stead.

5. All contracts and other financial documents, other than checks, necessary to undertake programs approved by the Board of Directors in accordance with these Bylaws shall be executed by the President and the Treasurer.

Article X: Amendments

1. An amendment to these Bylaws may be proposed by a majority of the Board of Directors or by a petition of one (1) percent of the voting Members presented to the Board of Directors. After an amendment has been proposed, it shall be mailed to the last known post office address of each voting member along with statements which specify the arguments for and against the proposed change. Ballots shall be counted sixty (60) days after mailing and the voting period shall be considered closed. An affirmative vote of a majority of the Members returning their ballots shall be required to ratify an amendment.

Article XI: Initial Organization

1. The initial organization of the Section shall be conducted at a meeting announced to the membership by the Newsletter with notice sent to all Division members previously expressing interest in the Section. This meeting shall be held in conjunction with either an APA Convention or a Division 35 EC meeting.